Chuck vs His Beautiful Rescue
by Charlie Shephard
Summary: Team Bartowski is tasked with infiltrating a Fulcrum Estate and retrieving some very valuable intelligence when things go horribly wrong and Chuck takes matter into his own hands. But even then, things don't go exactly as planned.


**A/N: This is my first attempt at a Chuck fanfic after many months of watching the show, reading the fanfics here and writing for Lost. This has been laying around for a while and last night's premiere gave me the impetus to clean it up a bit and show it to you all. The song is My Beautiful Rescue by This Providence. I do not own Chuck or This Providence, they said I can't rename their network Nothing But Chuck. This ones set sometime before the Orion arc, doesn't really matter the exact time, just know that Fulcrum is as powerful as they ever were. It wasn't betaed and so all mistakes are mine.**

**Chuck vs His Beautiful Rescue**

"So guys, what exactly are we looking for?" Chuck asked his handlers over the radio, although he preferred the term 'partners' or 'teammates'; 'handler' was too demeaning- not that Beckman cared. She had grown quite fond of the name 'Intersect' over the past few months.

"What part of radio silence didn't you understand Bartowski?" Casey growled in response, causing Chuck to elicit a moan.

"Sorry, Casey I just figured the Intersect would be better equipped for this mission if he knew what the hell he was looking for." Chuck shot back sarcastically.

"Apparently the silence part." Chuck heard Casey mutter to himself.

"I can hear you Casey!" Chuck responded into the microphone loudly, loud enough to cause the small speaker in Casey's ear to glitch and shoot out some particularly uncomfortable noise.

"God damnit Bartowski, if you don't shut it in the next three seconds I swear I will tie your bony ass to the top of the van on the way back to Castle." Casey threatened him, but Chuck wasn't to worried- it wasn't like he'd actually follow through. _Let's see how far Sugar Bear will take this,_ Chuck thought mischievously.

"That doesn't sound to bad, it's mostly local roads with a 25 mph speed limit, I think I could take that." Chuck antagonized the colonel.

"Never said I'd take the easiest way home, did I? Ever ridden on the roof of a van going 95 on the Freeway, Bartowski? Keep it up, and you're gonna find out." Casey took the bait, retorting with malice.

"Casey there is no way that this van can go 95. It starts shaking at 55…" Chuck keyed off the microphone before chuckling to himself. Who knew "staying in the car" could be so much fun.

"I swear Bartowski you better shut the fu—" Casey began to growl in that menacingly low voice of his, lucky he didn't finish the thought.

"Will you two quit it?!" Sarah interrupted, "It's like listening to two six year olds. Chuck if you must know we're looking for a disc." Sarah began to explain through the radio as Chuck watched the pair of Agents begin infiltrating the house.

"A disk? Why go through all the trouble? I could've just brought a few thousand home from the Buy More." Chuck joked to lighten the mood a little- besides, the van was _really _boring.

"Bad move Bartowski, now even Blondie's pissed at you." Casey remarked, clearly enjoying it, "Well, either that or she's thinking of how she's going to 'punish' you later."

In a split second, Sarah's eyes from transformed from a tranquil to fiery blue and she glared at Casey. It was a look she'd perfected over the years, a look that could strike fear into the most daring men, a look that, to be perfectly honest, scared Casey shitless. "No, no, I'm gonna go with just pissed."

"If you'd let me finish, Chuck" She continued, uttering his name in a tone that made him cringe through the radio, "This particular disc has information on it that will tell us a great deal about Fulcrum."

"What kind of information?" Chuck asked; his interest perked.

"If we knew that we wouldn't be here, moron." Casey interjected, obviously blaming Chuck for his receiving of Sarah's glare.

"It's going to tell us how much they know about you,8 Chuck, if anything at all. The disk is incredibly important to them, and so this is going to be tough which is why—" Sarah continued to explain to Chuck before she was interrupted.

"Why I need to stay in the car. Got it." Chuck completed her sentence. He'd developed a habit of doing that since they'd begun working together. Maybe Sarah was just a predictable woman.

"Happy numbnuts? Will you shut up now and let me and Mrs. Bartowski over here do our jobs?" Casey said, knowing he'd get another glare for that little remark. _What the hell, she's already pissed, why not have a little fun. It's not like it's going to be that tough, she just said that so Chuck would listen- once. _Sure enough, barely seconds had registered before the patented look found it ways over to Casey once again, but this time with twice the fire- any further and he'd swear her head would explode.

Taking Casey's last comment in stride, Chuck replied, "Got it. Radio silence. Only mission critical stuff."

Chuck watched through their respective video cameras as the pair made their way around the back of the house and disabled the security system. As much as Casey was reluctant to admit, it was really Sarah's forte. The top of the line model installed at this particular estate had taken her a mere 113 seconds to crack, a number for any agent to be proud of.

"That's odd." Chuck remarked to himself as he watched Sarah work her magic on the doomed security system. "There's no phone line. What's the point of having this state of the art alarm if it can't dial out to the authorities?"

"I'd hate to be the guy that installed that when Fulcrum finds out the place was ransacked." Chuck joked to himself as Sarah and Casey made their way through the back entrance and into what appeared to be a living room.

"Casey, are you picking up any electronic anomalies?" Sarah asked, hoping the security surrounding the intel would actually make their job locating it easier.

"Not yet, we'll have to keep moving. There's no way these idiots will manage to dupe this baby though. There's only about fifteen people that know it even exists." Casey responded, confident in the device he was holding.

"Ok, let's keep moving." Sarah's voice crackled through in response as they made their way deeper into the mansion.

Chuck looked on as they passed through the kitchen, some type of dining room, and several office areas. Sensing nothing suspicious in any of the rooms they began to make their way through the foyer in the front of the house toward the staircase that led upstairs.

"Hold it, Walker. We've got IR sensors and cameras here. Bartowski, you're up." Casey said softly. Well, as softly as the big man could manage.

"How the hell am I supposed to tap in to a closed circuit? I'm good, but I'm not that good." Chuck responded, slightly flattered by the faith Casey had in him- though Casey would never admit to it.

"Walker piggybacked the security system before we hacked it. Normal frequency." Casey responded as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right. I'm on it." Chuck said as he tuned into the correct frequency and began searching for the security sector he needed. After only a few seconds of searching he found it- Sector Y. "Disabling now…" Chuck updated the agents of his progress before proclaiming the job finished seconds later.

"Thanks, Chuck." Sarah's voice said as they moved through. "We're moving from east to west on this hallway can you follow our movements and have the security down and ready for us?"

"Yea, Sarah. No problem. Just keep moving, the next room is clear of security anyway." Chuck answered, checking the security blueprint on the system remotely.

"Nothing here." Casey reported in as they advanced to the next room.

"Ok, the security in Sector W—" Chuck began before he felt the all to familiar feeling of his eyes rocking back and his brain kicking into overdrive.

_A bunch of compact discs…the Buy More corporate logo….A nightclub…the Fulcrum symbol…the CIA crest…the Buy More corporate logo…a single disc._

"Chuck?" Sarah whispered with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Whoa." Chuck said, snapping out his flash. "Yea, I'm fine. But you're going to want to hurry. They know _way _to much about me."

"What? Did you flash, Chuck?" Sarah asked, voice rising.

"Yea, I flashed. They know all of it Sarah. My name, the Buy More, everything. You need to get that disc. Oh no, I don't want to go to a bunker. No, I don't like dark, crowded places." Chuck began to ramble, nervousness and panic gripping him.

"It'll all be fine, Chuck. Do you know where it's hidden?" Sarah asked, trying to soothe his nerves, although she knew it was no easy task; the bunker was a fate no one deserved.

"Yea, it's hidden in one of the security cameras in the room you're about to enter." Chuck answered, trying to hold his nerves. This was the definition of mission critical.

"How do we know which one?" Casey asked, getting straight to the point. There was really no point in antagonizing the kid now- this was getting serious.

"I'm not sure. Try and find the one that's not recording thermal. I'll see if I can find anything in the system that tips me off. I'll radio in anything I find." Chuck responded, keeping as professional as possible.

"Roger that Bartowski." Casey answered equally as professionally.

A few minutes passed before Chuck had exhausted every file in the security database. There was not one hint about where this intel was hidden, and Chuck was freaking out. _No Chuck, don't freak out._

Chuck began to scroll through the monitors he had access to, in the vain hope of finding some type of clue in the existing, functioning, cameras. Instead though, he found something much more disturbing.

A small device had been placed on the doorstep of the mansion. _That was definitely not there before_, Chuck thought to himself before zooming into investigate. At a higher resolution the camera revealed a dull but ever-present countdown timer. _What the hell?_

Chuck began searching his mind (the old-fashioned way) for any idea as to what it could be with no luck. Just as he was about to return to the cameras the radio sprung to life, rending him temporarily deaf, before shorting out all the monitors and equipment in the van. He was now all alone, no monitors and more importantly- no Sarah or Casey.

This fact hit Chuck hard- the device was an EMP, or Electromagnetic Pulse, designed to knockout enemy electronics and communications. Which could only mean one thing.

_They know we're here._

_I've been jumping from the tops of buildings._

_For the thrill of the fall._

_Ignoring sound advice._

_And any thought of consequence._

Chuck began racking his mind, searching for a reason to stay in the car when all signs pointed to Sarah and Casey having no idea they'd been compromised. The radio was controlled from the van, and so when the blast hit the van it would have stopped all communication with their headsets, rendering them oblivious. They couldn't physically see through their own cameras and so they would be unable to tell if they were still enabled and the radio silence could be explained by Casey's previous order.

_Don't freak out, _Chuck reminded himself. It wasn't working.

Thousands of thoughts raced through his mind, many of them Sarah's words to him in the previous few months.

"_Chuck, it's my job to protect you. The Intersect is more valuable than my life. I would give my life to protect it."_

"_Under no circumstances can you be compromised, Chuck. You're far too important to the government."_

"_Stay in the car, Chuck!" _

Chuck made a split second decision. Orders be damned. There was no way he was going to sit here and stand idly by as Sarah and Casey met their maker. _Sorry, Sarah. I'm leaving the car._

Chuck opened the back doors of the van, and flung himself to the pavement, looking toward the estate for any signs of obvious movement. He slowly rose into a crouch and made his way into the shadows of the drive. Following the same path Sarah and Casey had earlier he made his way to the back entrance unseen. But instead of heading straight inside and into the enemy's clutches he headed up the maintenance ladder to the roof of the building. He was channeling _Call of Duty_ now.

Upon reaching the roof faster than Chuck had thought possible he quickly searched for some type of access point. There, on the opposite side of the roof was a skylight. It was small, but it would have to do.

Running as fast as his untoned legs would carry him, Chuck made it to the window and peered down. He was directly above Sector W now. Looking down into the room, he was dismayed to find it was empty. He checked the shadows of the room thoroughly and spotted a wisp of blonde hair as it exited the room. He quietly smacked the skylight once or twice to try and signal his handlers, but no response was forthcoming.

For the second time in as many minutes Chuck made an incredibly risky decision. Figuring the men who had set off the EMP had not yet had the time to clear the bottom floor and head upstairs, Chuck new he had to take advantage of the extremely small window he had available to him.

Steadying himself beside the skylight, he brought his right foot down on the glass, shattering it, and making an awfully loud noise. Still the blonde-haired goddess did not re-enter the room and so Chuck did the one thing he hoped he wouldn't have to. He jumped.

_My bones are shattered._

_My pride is shattered._

_And in the midst of this self-inflicted pain._

_I can see my beautiful rescue._

_Fuck! _He cursed to himself as he landed. The pain was excruciating.

Chuck reared his head back in pain, closing his eyes in a hopeless attempt to shut out the pain. He would not allow himself to scream- it would condemn himself, Sarah and Casey to death. That is, if his dramatic entrance hadn't already.

His basic medicinal knowledge telling him it was badly fractured- at least. It was entirely possible that it had been a clean break. The click off of a safety drew Chuck's attention temporarily from the gash in his right leg. The fear began creeping up steadily, this was it.

_I failed_,Chuck thought as the barrel of a gun slowly poked itself around the doorframe. _Sarah and Casey are going to die, and it's all my fault. Any second now a Fulcrum hand is going to round the corner and put an end to me. I'm doomed._

He watched the doorframe in fear, fear that every breath he took would be his last, in fear he'd never see Sarah Walker again, in fear that he'd never see Ellie or Awesome or Morgan again. In what seemed like slow motion a Sig Sauer rounded the doorframe and Chuck nearly felt blinded by the tresses of golden hair that followed it.

_My beautiful rescue._

"Chuck?" Sarah asked in disbelief, looking first at the shattered and open skylight and then back down to the badly injured, but feebly smiling Chuck Bartowski.

"Bartowski? What the hell are you doing in here?" Casey said as he whipped round the corner only seconds after Sarah.

"I thought I told you to—" Sarah whispered with a wrath.

"Yea, stay in the car. Look, I wasn't going to sit in the car and watch you two die." Chuck responded with an equal vehement.

"What are you lip smacking about Bartowski? There's nobody here but us." Casey replied ignorantly.

"Don't you find it odd that _I _haven't said a word in at least 8 minutes on the radio, Casey?" Chuck said before turning to Sarah, who was staring at the gash on his right leg, deep in what appeared to be thought. "I was looking through the monitors when I saw this small little thing out front- before I knew it blew out the radio center and the feeds. I lost it all. It had to have been an EMP. Somebody knows we're here."

Casey was about to spout out some witty retort when his watch beeped. "Shit, the nerds right. Something just tripped the sensor I put downstairs." He said, his voice snapping Sarah out of his trance. "How long did it take you to get here, Bartowski?"

"About two minutes, why?"

"Ok, that means there still downstairs." Casey continued, "Walker, Patch him up. I've got the intel, I'm going to see what we're up against. Meet me at the other end of the hall; we're going to half to use the backdoor again. Get into the woods behind the house, make our way back from there. The van is out." Casey began barking orders; he was in his element.

His stern tone seemed to snap Sarah out of her trance; she feebly nodded before setting to work on Chuck's leg.

_I'm falling more in love._

_With every single word I withhold._

_I'm falling more in love._

_With every single word you say._

_I'm falling head-over-heels for you._

"You got the disc?" Chuck asked, relief sweeping through him almost as fast as the pain seared through. "That's…awesome." He managed to grit out.

"That's not important, Chuck. I'm getting you out of here, Chuck. Don't worry." Sarah said, more to reassure herself than anything. She slowly lifted Chuck's arms above his head. In order to do this though her breasts got dangerously close to Chuck's face. To say it was awkward was the understatement of the century. Any other time Sarah may have felt embarrassed, but not here, not now.

She slowly removed Chuck's arms from his Buy More jacket and unzipped the front. She gripped the jacket as tightly as possible before saying, "Chuck, this is going to hurt. But I need you to straighten your leg. It's really important you get it as straight as possible or the tourniquet won't work.

Chuck nodded and gritted his teeth together once again as he mustered all of his strength to straight his badly damaged leg. "That's as far as it goes." He muttered as tears began to fall from his eyes- the pain was unbearable.

Sarah felt a few tears of her own beginning to well up in her eyes as she quickly but effectively wrapped the jacket around his leg to stem the bleeding. It wasn't perfect, but it would work until they were out of immediate danger.

"Sarah, if I don't make it out of this, I want you to know—" Chuck began to say through gritted teeth as she helped him up and support his right shoulder.

"Shut up Chuck. I'm going to get you out of here, no one's going to hurt you anymore. I promise." Sarah cut him off determinedly as she helped towards Casey's position. _I will get him out of here, and god help any bastard that gets in my way. _

_I've been dancing on the tops of buildings._

_At the top of my lungs I'm singing you a song._

_Don't you leave me alone._

"There you two are, I was beginning to think you'd started…you know what? Never mind." Casey commented dryly as they approached his position.

Sarah carefully allowed Chuck to sit down against the wall of the hallway before crouching next to Casey. "So what's the situation?"

"They've got at least four people scouring the living room, and at least two more downstairs. They're about three quarters done with the living room, then I'm hoping they'll head through the far door to the kitchen. I figure our best shot is waiting 'til they leave for the kitchen, then head downstairs where we'll meet the least resistance. Normally I'd opt for some more gunplay, but we've got Bartowski to think about." Casey summarized his reconnaissance quickly.

"Aww, Casey you do care." Chuck joked from behind them. It sounded he was trying to take his mind of the bleeding gash just below his kneecap.

"Bartowski, if you make one more stupid comment I will break your other leg the minute we get back to Castle." Casey grunted in return before turning his attention back to Agent Walker.

"Sounds good. Let me know when we move, I'll try and tighten Chuck's bandage, I wanna make sure he doesn't lose to much blood." Sarah acknowledge before quietly moving to the opposite side of the hall where Chuck was situated.

"Chuck, how does your leg feel?" Sarah whispered.

"Which one?" Chuck replied, smiling painfully.

Sarah simply raised her eyebrows and glared at him. "Oh, you meant the broken one. Well, it hurts a lot, but I think the bleeding is slowing." Chuck replied softly.

"Ok, Chuck, now I'm going to tighten the tourniquet to make sure you don't lose any more blood. It's going to hurt, but it's the only chance way I can ensure your safety." Sarah said, tears threatening to shed.

"Ok, Sarah. I trust you." Chuck said gritting his teeth and Sarah used all her strength to tighten Chuck's Buy More jacket around his leg. When she was finished she quickly admired her work before turning upward to see Chuck's stricken face.

"It's all done Chuck, breathe, Chuck. Deep breaths." Sarah coaxed him, attempting to relieve his stress. If anything went wrong in the next few minutes, that leg could prove a fatal problem.

"I'm trying Sarah, but I'm not so good at this." Chuck muttered, doing his best to force the pain from his mind. Unfortunately though, he was failing miserably.

Sarah knelt on the floor next to Chuck attempting to think of ways to reduce Chuck's stress. Of course there was one way she was almost positive would work, but now was _definitely_ not the time. She racked her mind for stress reduction techniques, but the ones that came required two functioning legs.

As she thought, she could barely register Chuck muttering curses in a futile attempt to flush out the pain, and to flush out the stress.

_Oh screw it_,Sarah thought to herself as she threw her left leg over Chuck's right side, leaving her right firmly planted on his left. "Sarah, what are you doing?" Chuck almost gasped in surprise, but failed to finish as Sarah's lips literally crashed into his own. It wasn't the kiss she wanted, and it wasn't the situation she wanted, but it sure as hell was the man she wanted.

The kiss may have not been romantic or gentle, but it was incredibly passionate and electrifying. The pain in Chuck's leg instantly forgotten, he threw his upper body into the kiss with just as much fervor as Sarah had shown two seconds ago. Broken leg, life-threatening situation or not, he was going to enjoy this kiss. If the agents downstairs had anything to do with it, it would be his last.

Sarah's rush of excitement and passion was cut short though by Casey's gruff yell of, "Walker. Change of plan. We got company."

"Shit." Sarah cursed, not only for the agents currently walking up the staircase, but also for the cruel interruption. They would pay for that. "Chuck, slide yourself into that room right there. We cleared the security devices out before, Casey and I will handle these clowns." She whispered softly, and Chuck didn't his best to obey.

Just as Chuck's feet disappeared through the door the first of the Fulcrum agents reached the apex of the stairs, and no sooner than he had turned the corner into the hall Casey had him in a chokehold and quietly escorted him into the adjacent room- with as much force as possible.

Sarah could hear one more man's footsteps heading up the hall and she quickly took aim. He reached the final stair and stepped out onto the second floor before receiving a bullet right between the eyes. But instead of falling backwards like physics dictated he should, he contorted his body and fell to his left side, tumbling down the staircase and giving their position away in the process.

Sarah remained silent, hoping no one had heard. But sure enough, barely seconds later shouts of confirmation could be heard down the stairs. "Chuck, get up, we're going to have to run. Casey, get rid of him, we have to move." Sarah began barking orders. Shit had hit the proverbial fan.

"Chuck, can you walk alright?" Sarah asked as both her asset and partner arrived at the top of the staircase moments later.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Chuck affirmed, nodding his head courageously.

"Alright Walker, let's move. I'll go first, cover me." Casey said as he charged down the stairs, gunning down two Fulcrum agents mid-gallop. He reached the bottom of the stairs and dove for cover. He signaled for Sarah fifteen seconds later, indicating the coast was clear. At least for now.

Chuck and Sarah made their way downstairs as fast as possible. They reached the living room and bounded down the stairs toward the basement. Immediately upon entering the room, shots were fired, missing their targets by inches. The entire Team Bartowski was forced to dive behind the bar which occupied the majority of the room.

After several minutes of trading fire, Casey said those dreaded four words. "I'm out of ammo."

"I've got four rounds left. We need a plan fast." Sarah replied with a hint of defeat in her tone.

Suddenly Chuck's quiet, pained voice could be heard from their left. "Give me the empty gun… We all run back up the stairs…I'll keep running through the living room, you guys double back and get out of here…" He muttered softly.

"No, Chuck. You're safety is the—" Sarah instantly replied, but Chuck didn't let her finish.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Sarah. I'm going to die anyway, at least…at least let me help you survive." _At least let me help the woman I love survive._

_My bones were shattered._

_My pride lays shattered._

_Well I'll trample my pride and tell the whole world._

_To dance with me._

"No, Chuck. There is not a chance I'm letting you die here." Sarah instantly rejected his plan, and Casey agreed.

"She's right, Chuck. You're life is more important than ours."

"You may believe that, but I'm sick of that crap. You're lives are just as important as mine. I'm just Chuck Bartowski, Nerd Herd Supervisor. I may not be a great agent, but I do know one thing. One person dying is better than two. Unless you've got another plan, give me your gun now Casey, or I'm going up without one." Chuck challenged him, and Casey looked at Sarah before reluctantly handing over his gun.

"Wait." Sarah, screamed over the gunfire being pelleted into the marble surrounding them. "I've got a better plan."

"Quick Walker, let's hear it." Casey said, paying careful attention as Sarah outlined her plan. He had to admit, it had a much better survival rate for the three of them, depending on how fast Chuck could run.

They waited for the inevitable ceasefire that would signal reloading before they swept into action. Sarah and Casey popped out from behind the bar and fired there remaining bullets throughout the room as Chuck ran as fast as he could through the basement bursting through the closest shattered glass window and making his way toward the woods. He could feel, almost smell, the patch of forest behind the estate when an incredible searing pain shot through his chest.

The sweeping pain was absolutely immense and shot throughout his body like wildfire, but his chest…his chest felt like a nuclear explosion had just gone off inside it.

Screaming in absolute agony, Chuck fell to the ground and searched erratically for the wound. His hands quickly found the entrance wound, the blood was spurting out by the liter now, and he surely only had seconds left.

_I'm falling more in love._

_With every single word I withhold._

_I'm falling more in love._

_With every single word you say._

_I'm falling head-over-heels for you again._

Back inside the house, Chuck's scream pierced through Sarah's ears. A white, hot rage took over inside her, and Sarah immediately knew that she _had _to get to Chuck. She slid the emergency knife holstered on her thigh from it's sheath and burst over the bar running straight for the Fulcrum agents hiding in the corner of the room.

She propelled the knife with newfound venom towards the man's face, ending his life instantly. She dove behind his cover as his partner, and final obstacle in her path to Chuck began to fire upon the intruder. Walker picked up the slain enemy's Mini-Uzi and fired an entire clip through the small overturned table. The thud of a body hitting the floor that emanated from behind the wall confirmed another kill.

"Casey, MEDICS!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, thinking about the curly-haired, brown-eyed main lying outside.

Quickly moving over and tossing the fallen enemy's armament to Casey, she headed towards her injured beloved as fast as possible. The sight before her very eyes outside of the mansion both shocked, disturbed and nearly killed her.

_I'm crying out._

_"Wash my hands, these bloody hands Lord. Open my mouth and I'll sing."_

Chuck was still breathing, though with extreme difficulty and so surmised the bullet must have missed his lungs. Where the hell it had come from, Chuck had no idea. He withdrew his hands slowly from the area of penetration and almost vomited at the sight of them. Sure he could handle blood- he lived with two doctors for crying out loud- but this was too much. The entire surface of both hands was covered in a crimson red color.

Chuck attempted to speak, anything to warn Sarah of the man outside, but found himself woefully inept. He wanted to cry out for Sarah, to warn her, to tell her, anything. But he couldn't.

_It can't be long now._

His head lolled to the right, his body finally unable to maintain the muscle strength to keep his head straight up. Chuck quickly saw a man in a ghillie suit approaching him, a grin of satisfaction plastered on his face. Chuck felt a flash coming on, and began to mentally prepare himself for what would soon follow, but it never came. He was so hurt his mind lacked the ability to flash.

Chuck closed his eyes as the man in the ghillie suit closed the gap between them, removing the sidearm from his holster and aiming it straight at Chuck's head. "Goodbye, Mr. Carmichael" He uttered.

Chuck closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. He was going to die. He was going to die, and Sarah would never know the truth. The worst part was that he'd never get the chance to correct that.

Chuck heard the sound of the bullet leaving the chamber, and attempted to shut off mind and allow himself to succumb peacefully to his wounds. This was the end. He wanted to curse Bryce Larkin, the bastard who'd sent him this horrible computer, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't blame Bryce for what had happened for one sole reason.

The last few months had been the best of life.

_I'm falling more in love._

_With every single word I withhold._

_I'm falling more in love._

_With every single word you say._

_I'm falling head-over-heels for you._

"Chuck…Chuck…" Sarah yelled in distress, lightly slapping his cheek in an attempt to wake him up. Casey looked on as she futilely continued for almost five minutes. It was hurting Casey just looking on at the scene before him.

"Walker." Casey whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder gently, "He's gone."

"No! He can't be gone! He can't be! I'm in love with him! He can't leave me now!" Sarah yelled through the tears now cascading prominently down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Sarah, I really am." Casey replied just as backup could be heard overheard.

Sarah didn't reply, instead lay down next to Chuck and cried. She cried for the time they'd spent together, the arguments they'd had, but most of all she cried for all the time she'd missed with him.

"Sa…" Chuck moaned so softly that Sarah wasn't even sure it was real. Even so, she quickly changed removed herself from Chuck's side, instead cradling his head in her lap, attempting to coax him from death's embrace.

The sound of the rotors overheard grew louder as Sarah's hope of Chuck's miraculous revival grew stronger. "Chuck?" She urged him, praying he'd wake up. "Chuck?"

"Sar…" Chuck gasped once again, attempting to open his eyes. At first Chuck thought he'd entered the afterlife, but as soon as he saw his blood covering Sarah's shirt he knew that he hadn't yet gone. "Sarah"

"Casey! He's alive! Tell them to hurry the hell down here!" Sarah yelled, but Casey was already one step ahead of her. Within seconds the helicopter had landed on the ground twenty yards beside them and medics rushed out.

"Sarah, I…" Chuck tried to speak once more, but this time Sarah covered his mouth softy with her hand.

"Don't speak, Chuck. I have something to say to you." She said as the tears continued to fall. "I love you, Chuck. I have done for a while now, I'm sorry it's taken me so damn long to realize it. I thought that I was born to be a CIA agent, to serve my country, but I was wrong. I want a normal life, and I want it with you. I can't do this anymore." Sarah began spewing her thoughts, as the barest form of a smile appeared on Chuck's face, "Please Chuck, don't leave me now. I was so stupid in ignoring what I felt about you, don't make me regret that more than I do now. Please hold on, Chuck, so I can show you how much you mean to me."

"I…love…you too… Sarah." Chuck groaned in response just as the medics reached him; setting to work on the bullet embedded in his chest first.

"Hold on, Chuck. You're going to make it. You're going to be alright."

_Yea. Yea, I am._

_I've been dancing on the tops of buildings._

_With you._

**A/N: ****So hopefully you enjoyed that. I really hope you did, actually. I realize it may have seemed a little drawn out, but I didn't notice it was almost 7,000 words until I uploaded it here :D. Please let me know what you thought about it, even if you hated it- I'd like to know. All your reviews only make me a better writer. Now that we know how TPTB have decided to handle the Interesect 2.0 upload I have an idea in my head about an AU fic diverging at the end of S2, only less angsty. But I don't want to waste my time and yours, so PLEASE let me know what you think.**


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